DPRK views (online albums 12/2018)

Spotted today on the Flickr photo sharing site

 (screenshot shows 3 viewing options). Press Z for full-scale image; press L for "fit to screen" size.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8pl/albums/72157713324422896

Glimpses of wartime Korea from 1950-53

The recent book by Charles Hanley, Ghost Flames, interweaves the timelines of more than a dozen people from north and south, USA and allied forces, civilian and military. It shines a light on atrocities on all sides and the brutality to life and to the land. This book joins other vivid views of that time composed in English that were published instead in a novelist's form, expressing truths that are hard to capture in non-fiction accounts: Ha Jin's 2007 book, War Trash and Richard Kim's 1970 book, Lost Names.

Here is part of the War Trash description at Amazon.com

Ha Jin's masterful new novel casts a searchlight into a forgotten corner of modern history, the experience of Chinese soldiers held in U.S. POW camps during the Korean War. In 1951 Yu Yuan, a scholarly and self-effacing clerical officer in Mao's "volunteer" army, is taken prisoner south of the 38th Parallel. Because he speaks English, he soon becomes an intermediary between his compatriots and their American captors.

And Lost Names as described at Amazon.com

 ...a deeply moving impression of the Korea he knew as a child during the Japanese occupation. Taking its title from the grim fact that the occupiers forced the Koreans to renounce their own names and adopt Japanese names instead,

Finally, here is part of the book description for Ghost Flames at Amazon.com

This is an intimate, deeper kind of history, whose meticulous research and rich detail, drawing on recently unearthed materials and eyewitness accounts, bring the true face of the Korean War, and the vastness of its human tragedy, into a sharper focus than ever before. The "forgotten war" becomes unforgettable.

documentary, "Have Fun in Pyongyang"

Excerpt,

This film was shot over a period of eight years by three different people who between them made more than forty trips to North Korea. However, we are not presented with prison camps, or rocket launch pads as that is forbidden. Instead, Have Fun in Pyongyang examines what daily life is like for the 25 million North Koreans who live there. Are they allowed to laugh, dance, and marry? What do they eat? Where do they go on holiday? Due to the countries isolation, these simple questions are quite difficult to answer.

Having attended festivals, harvest ceremonies, visiting factories, and listened to singing contests, we through their camera lenses catch a fascinating and bizarre glimpse of everyday life inside The Hermit Kingdom.

Directed by: Pierre-Olivier Francois

webpage, https://documentaryheaven.com/have-fun-in-pyongyang/

newsletter treasure trove of events, topics, names and opportunities

The PDF online newsletter is more than 50 pages of rich detail for those keen on digging into the cultural landscape past and present that is connected to the Korean peninsula, http://www.koreanstudies.org/cks-winter-2020-newsletter/

Subtitles from Korean fails here and there - "Parasite" movie viewing

Excerpt from essay,

https://gen.medium.com/subtitles-cant-capture-the-full-class-critique-in-parasite-27d36748db9d

Parasite has been acclaimed as a strong critique of the stratification created by capitalism and class. It’s now up for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. But to me, the film’s critique is nothing new. The Korean language and culture embody class stratification, and I was frustrated because I wanted everyone to recognize the ubiquitous nature of the class stratification that happens every day, in every conversation, which isn’t apparent in the subtitles. This ability to navigate the language, even for an immigrant turned naturalized citizen like me, is how you keep in touch with culture. Perhaps this is where translation fails, with the nuances of emotional understanding...